“Recently?” asked Ben.
“Why, only three or four days ago,” the stranger answered, “I struck a camp where they had tons and tons of provisions, and they wouldn’t give me the second meal! Yes, sir, they fired me out after I’d had a few egg sandwiches and a cup of coffee substitute.”
“How long ago was this?” asked Ben, glancing quietly at the Englishman.
“Three or four days ago!” was the answer. “I’ve been traveling nights to keep warm, and to keep out of the clutches of the wild animals, and sleeping days so long that I’ve lost all track of time. It may have been three days ago and it may have been four days ago.”
“Can you give me the direction of this camp?” asked the Englishman. “I’d like to know something about the fellows there, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, I don’t know which way it is from here. I couldn’t find it if I wanted to, and I’ll give you a straight tip right now that I don’t want to! Just for company’s sake, understand, I tried to get a night’s sleep within sight of their camp-fire. I rolled myself in a blanket and was just dreaming that I was eating a porterhouse steak at Sherry’s, when the midnight concert at the camp began. I guess they were all good and drunk before morning.”
“Do you know,” began the Englishman, “that I half believe that you found the camp I belonged in!”
“If you were in the camp when I tried to sleep near it,” the stranger went on, “you probably got a good souse before morning.”
The Englishman turned away to the tent, and Ben busied himself in preparing dinner for the stranger who gave his name as Martin Sprague.
“I see,” Sprague went on, while the dinner cooked, “that you boys have a couple of fine flying machines. Was that your machine that lit out over the valley a short time ago? When I saw that machine, I said there must be a camp in this side of the valley, so I followed my nose and here I am.”